How many spaces should you type after a period? If you said, “Two,” it turns out you are the victim of a historical accident.

Every major style guide agrees on a single space after a period. But most of us were taught to type two spaces after a period. Why?

Blame the manual typewriter.

Quick typography lesson: Unlike printing presses and computers, which have proportional fonts like the one on this blog, manual typewriters only have monospaced fonts (see a sample of monospaced fonts), where every character has the same width.

To make up for the manual typewriter’s shortcomings, typing schools taught an entire generation the double-space rule. And the bad habit stuck, even when computers added proportional fonts in the 1970s.

Your computer is not a typewriter. It has proportional fonts. Stop typing two spaces after periods. Just stop it.

Below is a quick overview of what XO does and why I joined the company.

Who is XO?
XO is one of the nation’s largest telecommunications providers. Unlike Verizon and AT&T, they do not provide residential services.

XO specializes in providing businesses, especially those with multiple locations, with VoIP, Internet, managed network, and hosted IT solutions.

Why I Joined XO
XO serves more than half of the Fortune 500, including the top three search engines.

The company is growing, and XO is making some big changes in its Las Vegas office.

The Las Vegas office has an entirely new staff. The new General Manager, Lynn Folkerson, recruited me to help work with XO’s major accounts, and I am looking forward to helping XO further expand in Las Vegas.